Playing a little catch up...

So I know I need to play quite a bit of catch up to get everyone updated on what we are up to these days.  Here is a very abridged version of our lives here!

When we got here, Phil and I  started connecting with some amazing people immediately.  The Daves, Tristen, and Nicci were so wonderful to pal around with as we were all getting to know the city and as Phil started school.  They are all from Canada so Phil and I learned more about Canada than we have in our entire lives.  Let me tell you, these Canadians are just the nicest people, eh??

Us (obviously), Dave, Tristen, Dave, Nicci

Speaking of White Coat Ceremonies...I have never been more proud!! What a special day in Phil's life.  I am so glad I got to be there to watch him put that white coat on!  Too bad someone stood right in the aisle blocking my photo shot!  But here is the happy new med student afterwards:

Then we went on a coach tour of Newcastle and the coast with some of Phil's classmates.  We had so much fun!  Here are a few pictures from that.

Saint Mary's Lighthouse - when the tide is up you can get stranded on the little island	It was COLD and raining. Welcome to Europe to us!
The Tynemouth Priory and Castle sits right on the cliff above the water	Ending the day at an "Afternoon Tea" at a nice hotel in town

Another exciting event in our early days in Newcastle was watching our first Newcastle United Football Game (in a pub).  We went to the Lonsdale which is super close to our flat.  When we got there, we could barely find a table.  As the game went on the pub got PACKED!! The whole bar was full and people were even sitting all the way up the stairs to the second level. 

We invited Dave and Nicci to join us. We spent more time learning about Canada and talking about the US than actually watching the game.

The crowded bar area - the giant screen is up to the left

Since I have so much more to tell everyone about, I will end this post here but I promise to write more soon.  Stay tuned!

This is your life

Just had to share this really quick.   I feel like these words describes why we are on this crazy adventure perfectly.  It reminds me that although coming here was scary for us at first...it truly is an amazing experience.  This goes along with my favorite saying that is "Live each day".  Life is precious so it all comes down to doing what will make you happy!

Night out on the "China" town

Ok, I know I missed a few blog posts but I am skipping ahead to this past weekend!  I have been wanting to go to Chinatown since we got here to have some authentic Chinese food.  I asked Phil again and we decided to make a fun Saturday night out of it.  We would go to dinner and then go down and see the Newcastle bridges at night (well mostly just the Millennium Bridge).  Soooo we got all fancy-like and headed out!

We went to a restaurant called "Mangos" because I had heard good things about it.  We started off the night with some Tsingtao which is a well known Chinese beer.  This was nostalgic for me because the first time I ever had a drink was in China and it was this. 

We then browsed the giant menu trying to decide what to get.  Upon asking the waiter what was "good", we decided on the Arromatic Duck, fried rice, deep fried beef in oyster sauce, and pork dumplings.  They were all amazing!  Phil even said this rivals Gourmet House (the chinese restaurant I grew up going to in Central Phoenix).  So we had a ton of fun trying these new things and just enjoying one another. 

After dinner we started wandering towards the Quayside (riverside) with my google maps in hand.  Finally an intoxicated yet very nice man told us the best way to get to the river was "Go that way, go past an arch, lights, go through second arch, hotel, steps".  These are very typical Newcastle local directions.  But luckily they totally worked!  We walked along the river and took probably a hundred pictures between the two of us.  We even got to see the Millennium Bridge open!

 

It was such an amazing evening spent with my love!  We had SO MUCH FUN!

 

 

Welcome to our humble abode!!

So I know it is a bit delayed but I finally set up a blog for all of our friends and loved ones to see what we are up to (outside of random Facebook posts and photo albums).  I know I can tend to ramble and am not the best writer but I hope you enjoy it!

We are now the proud inhabitants of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK.  Since many people ask me where Newcastle is exactly, here you go!  It is in the northern part of the United Kingdom close to Scotland.

The first few weeks were a bit chaotic as we were both sick while trying to find a place to live and get Phil ready for school.  The hotel we stayed at the first night was a bust so the next day we relocated to the Marriott and began our search for a flat.  We met with a ton of realty companies and viewed just as many properties.  We finally settled on a flat in the adorable town just north of the City Centre called Jesmond.  Here is our new place!

We are on the top level in the middle

Our adorable street

Our flat definitely has its quirks but it's very roomy and we like it.  Phil can either walk or take the metro to school.  We are literally RIGHT next to the West Jesmond Metro station so the first few nights when our wardrobes were still empty, they would rattle every time a metro would go by!  But now that they are filled up (from our suitcases, boxes our parents sent, and MAYYYYBE a little shopping...), we can sleep peacefully!  Jesmond WAS very quiet when we moved in but now that all Universities are back in session there are a TON of students everywhere.  This is one hoppin' town.

Beautiful Jesmond Pre-Student Invasion

The following weeks were filled with settling in, meeting new friends, Phil's White Coat Ceremony,  new adventures, school and working (I worked, Phil schooled).  I will tell you all about them! However, if write it all in this one post you will feel like you're reading a book!  Soooo...

TO BE CONTINUED...